The New Saints RSS feedhttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/new-saints
enUEFA Champions League: Celtic coast throughVirgil van Dijk and Teemu Pukki both scored twice as Celtic beat KR 4-0 to reach the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/uefa-champions-league-review-celtic-coast-through-bate-given-scare
The Scottish champions held a slender one-goal lead heading into the second leg at Murrayfield, where they were playing due to Parkhead being used for the Commonwealth Games, and they made light work of moving one step closer to the group stages on Tuesday.
Defender Van Dijk was on hand to open the scoring from close range after goalkeeperStefan Logi Magnusson failed to dealwith a Kris Commons corner 13 minutes in, then doubled his side's lead seven minutes later following another error from the keeper and poor defending.
Icelandic outfit KR fell further behind whenPukki fired home after good work from Callum McGregor27 minutes in and the Finland striker added a fourth 19 minutes from time to complete the rout, with Commons denied a fifth goal by the post.
Celtic now face eitherSt Patrick's AthleticorLegia Warsaw,who meet in Dublin on Wednesday,in the third qualifying round.
Belarusian champions BATE Borisov scraped through on away goals as they heldSkenderbeu to a 1-1 draw in Albania.
After a tense goalless first leg it wasBATE who edged in front when midfielderEdgarOlekhnovich opened the scoring with29 minutes gone, but the home side responded well andGerhardProgni was denied by the woodwork three minutes later.
Skenderbeu did get their equaliser courtesy of Croatian defender Marko Radas after 67 minutes, then substitute Andi Ribaj struck the frame of the goal two minutes from time in a tense finale as BATE held on.
Sparta Prague coachVitezslavLavicka had the luxury of making eight changes to the side that hammeredLevadia 7-0 in the first leg last week as they drew 1-1 to progress 8-1 on aggregate.
Captain David Lafata was given a rest after scoring five goals in the first leg andIngemar Teever struck for the home side in Estonia afterLukasMarecek had put Sparta in front and it finished all square on the night.
Qarabag made light work of ending Valletta's participation in the competition as they secured a resounding 4-0 win, having earneda 1-0 victory in the first leg, as the visitors had Jonathan Caruana and Ryan Fenech sent off.
Sheriff coasted through 5-0 on aggregate by beating Sutjeska 3-0 away from home in the second leg, while Ludogorets also progressed after drawing 1-1 at Dudelange - having won the first leg 4-0.
Maccabi Tel Aviv beatAndorran outfitSanta Coloma 2-0 to go through 3-0 on aggregate, but Barak Badash was sent off late on after coming off the bench beforeAlbert Mercade saw red for the visitors.
MarkoMilinkovic struck twice in the last 16 minutes asSlovan Bratislava won 2-0 to sealtheir passage into the third qualifying round at the expense of The New Saints, who they beat 1-0 in the first leg.
Dinamo Zagreb and Partisan Belgrade also made it through by beating Zalgiris and HB 6-0 and 4-1 on aggregate respectively.
news_articleTue, 22 Jul 2014 21:40:51 +0000216920 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comUEFA Champions League: Buckley warns St PatsSt Patricks Athletic manager Liam Buckley has warned of thinking too far ahead going into their UEFA Champions League clash with Legia.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/uefa-champions-league-preview-buckley-warns-st-pats-celtic-primed-progress
Buckley's men meet the Polish side in the second leg of their second qualifying round tie on Wednesday having drawn 1-1 in Warsaw last week.
With an away goal in the bank, the Dublin-based outfit are well positioned to progress and potentially set up a lucrative tie with Scottish champions Celtic.
Ronny Deila's Celtic side boast a1-0 lead midway through their tie with KR of Reykjavik, but Buckley is eager for his players not to let their minds wander as to what may await them.
"Celtic would be a fantastic tie as they're such a big club and have a huge fan base in Ireland - I'm a fan of them myself," he told The Mirror.
"But the minute you start looking too far ahead is when you slip up and fall flat.
"We need to be as good, if not better, than we were in Poland the other night if we want to progress."
Like Champions League regulars Celtic, former European champions Steaua Bucharest have work to do in securing progression.
A 1-0 win over Stromsgodset in Norway does, however, putthem in a strong position to face Aktobe or Dinamo Tbilisi in the next round, with theKazakh championsholding a one-goal advantage in thattie.
Sparta Prague and Ludogorets can consider themselves all but through thanks to 7-0 and 4-0 first-leg wins over Levadia and Dudelange respectively.
However, the likes of Malmo and BATE need to turn in a positive showingafter goalless draws against Ventspils and Skenderbeu.
Maccabi Tel-Aviv meetSanta Coloma in Cyprus knowing Zrinjski or Maribor await, while Partizan travel to the Faroe Islands knowing a 3-0 first-leg win makesthem favourites to progress pastHB.
The New Saints andZalgiris will hope home advantage can help them turn around deficits against Slovan Bratislava and Dinamo Zagreb.
Sheriff or Sutjeska await the Welsh side, while Aalborg or Dinamo Zagreb arethe motivation for Zalgiris.
Rabotnicki againstHJK andCliftonville versus Debrecen could also come down to away goals, after the first legs ended goalless, while Qarabag welcome Valletta to Azerbaijan after picking up a 1-0 win in Malta.
news_articleSun, 20 Jul 2014 13:04:15 +0000215502 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comZenit to face AEL Limassol in Champions LeagueRussian club Zenit will get their UEFA Champions League campaign under way against AEL Limassol in the competitions third qualifying round.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/zenit-face-ael-limassol-champions-league
Zenit made the round of16 last season before bowing out to Borussia Dortmund 5-4 on aggregate, whileCypriot side AEL reached the group stage in 2012-13.
Copenhagen finished bottom of Group Blast termand will faceDniproDnipropetrovsk whileRed BullSalzburg - who made the final 16 of the Europa League- will face Valletta or Qarabag.
Feyenoord's first European test of the post-Ronald Koeman era will see them take on Turkish Super Lig club Besiktas.
Scottish champions Celtic could face a relatively nearbyfixture provided they can see off KR at Celtic Park.
Ronny Deila's men secured a one-goal advantage in Reykjavik and will meet Legia Warsaw or Dublin-based St Patrick's Athletic in the next round if they see the tie through.
Lille's reward for a third-place finish in the French top flight last term is a fixture with Grasshoppers of Switzerland while Standard Liege will welcome Panathinaikos of Greece for the first leg of their tie.
If Maccabi Tel-Aviv get past Santa Coloma they will likely lose home advantage for their tie with Zrinjski or Maribor.
UEFA ruled on Thursday that, due to the "current security situation in Israel", no UEFA competition matches would be played in the country until further notice.
Draw in full (Champions Route):
Limassol v Zenit
Dnipro Dnipropetrovskv Copenhagen
Feyenoord v Besiktas
Grasshoppers v Lille
Standard Liege v Panathanaikos
Valletta orQarabag v Red Bull Salzburg
Cliftonville orDebrecen v BATE Borisov orKC Skenderbeu
Slovan Bratislava orThe New Saints v Sheriff orSutjeska
Aalborg vDinamo Zagreb orZalgiris
Legia Warsaw orSt Patrick's Athletic v KR orCeltic
Dinamo Tbilisi orAktobe vStromsgodset orSteaua Bucharest
Zrinjski orMaribor vSanta Coloma orMaccabi Tel-Aviv
Rabotnicki orHJK Helsinki v APOEL
Sparta Prague orLevadia Tallin v Malmo orVentspils
Ludogorets orF91 Dudelange v Partizan orHB Torshavn
news_articleFri, 18 Jul 2014 10:39:17 +0000214412 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comUEFA Champions League: Celtic leave it lateRonny Deilas Celtic required a late debut goal from Callum McGregor to ensure victory over KR in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/uefa-champions-league-review-celtic-leave-it-late-sparta-dominant-prague
In the Norwegian's first competitive match in charge of the Scottish champions, he saw his side frustrated for large spells by their Icelandic opponents in Reykjavik.
However, McGregor's well-taken goalensures thatCeltic will take an advantage into the second leg of theirsecond qualifying round tie next week.
The 21-year-old Scot cut inside his marker and slipped the ball past Stefan Magnusson to edge his side in front six minutes from time.
Czech champions Sparta Prague are all but into the third qualifying round after hitting sevenpast Levadia of Estonia without reply.
Captain David Lafata was in fine form, scoring five times, while Tomas Prikryl was also on target andToni Tipuric turnedthe ball into his own net in a miserable outing for the visitors.
Danko Lazovic's brace helped Partizan to a 3-0win over HB Torshavn, while Dinamo Zagreb will hope to build on their2-0 first-leg advantage on their return trip to Zalgiris.
Belarusian champions BATE Borisov were unable to break down a stubbornSkenderbeu side on home soil and will be keen to improve in the return encounterin Albania.
Zrinjski's visit of Maribor and HJK's trip to Rabotnickialsoended goalless, as did Cliftonville's first-leg meetingwith Debrecen.
Qarabag will take a one-goal lead back to Azerbaijan for the second leg of their clash with Valletta after picking up a 1-0 win in Malta.
Chumbinho scored the only goal in agame that saw RyanCamilleri sent off for the hosts, while Slovan Bratislava had Erik Cikos to thank for their 1-0 victory over The New Saints in the Slovak capital.
Two goals in the last 19 minutes ensured it is advantage Sheriff against Sutjeska, with Rade Prica handing Maccabi Tel Aviv a 1-0 win over Andorran outfitSanta Coloma.
news_articleTue, 15 Jul 2014 21:22:46 +0000212836 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comUEFA Champions League: Celtic begin campaignScottish champions Celtic visit Icelands KR on Tuesday as qualifying for the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League gathers pace.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/uefa-champions-league-preview-celtic-begin-campaign-steaua-norway
The 1967 European Cup winners made it to the group stages after thumping Cliftonville 5-0 over two legs in the second qualifying round last year, but begin the new campaign with a different coach at the helm.
Ronny Deila is the man charged with fillingthe boots of former Celtic Park bossNeil Lennon, who won five Scottishtitles as a playerbefore guiding the club to three consecutive crowns in the past three seasons.
And Deila will be keen to make a winning start in Iceland this week, with the second leg set to take place at Murrayfield as Celtic's Glasgowhomeplays host to the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.
Deila's former club Stromsgodset welcome Steaua Bucharest to Norway for the opening leg ofone of the trickier ties of the round, with the Romanians having been crowned kings of Europe back in 1986.
Steaua also featured in the group stage of last year's tournament, but failed to muster a single win as they finished bottom of a pool that also featured Chelsea, Schalke and Basel.
Belarusian championsBATE Borisov's European adventure gets under way against Albania's Skenderbeu Korce on Wednesday, while Dinamo Zagreb tackle Zalgiris Vilnius.
Santa Coloma, HB and Levadia Tallinn have already had to come through one round to reach this stage, beating Banants, Lincoln Red Imps and La Fiorita in the first qualifying round.
The reward for Andorra's Santa Coloma is a two-legged clash with Maccabi Tel Aviv, while HB visit Belgrade to face Partizan after disposing of the first Gibraltarian entrants in the competition's history.
Meanwhile, Estonian league winners Levadia are up against 1992 semi-finalists Sparta Prague.
Ludogorets Razgrad will look to build on an impressive UEFA Europa League campaign last season, but will be wary of their second qualifying round exit in 2012-13 as they take on F91 Dudelange of Luxembourg, while Legia Warsaw get started against St Patrick's Athletic.
Elsewhere in the draw, Maribor are in Bosnia-Herzegovina for the first leg of their clash with Zrinjski Mostar, Slovan Bratislava welcome The New Saints of Wales, Malmo face Ventspils, and Cliftonville are in action against Debrecen.
The round's remaining fixtures see Sheriff Tiraspol host Sutjeska Niksic, HJK come up against Rabotnicki, Dinamo Tbilsi tackle Aktobe, and Qarabag challenge Valletta.
news_articleSun, 13 Jul 2014 13:07:24 +0000211456 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comCeltic handed Reykjavik Champions League tieScottish champions Celtic will face KR Reykjavik in the second qualifying round for the UEFA Champions League.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/celtic-handed-reykjavik-qualifier
New manager Ronny Deila will face the champions of Iceland at home on July 15 or 16 in his first competitive game in charge of the Glasgow club.
The first leg is set to be played at Murrayfield as Parkhead will play host to the Commonwealth Games, with the return fixture played on either July 22 or 23.
Deila, who was appointed as Neil Lennon's successor after the Northern Irishman resigned last month, will be expected to see Celtic through against a Reykjavik side who sit fourth in the Icelandic top flight.
Former European champions Steaua Bucharest face Stromsgodset IF of Norway in the second qualifying round and the Romanian outfit will have home advantage in the second leg.
Lincoln Red Imps will become the first club from Gibraltar to participate in the Champions League when they lock horns with Faroe Islands club HB Torshavn in the first qualifying round - with the first leg played on either July 1 or 2.
The winner of the clash between those two minnows have the incentive of taking on Partizan Belgrade in the second qualifying round.
Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv lie in wait for the winner of the first qualifying round tie between Andorran champions FC Santa Coloma and Armenian club FC Banants.
Estonian club FC Levadia Tallinn and SP La Fiorita of San Marino meet in the other first qualfying round tie.
Champions League first qualifying round draw in full:
FC Santa ColomavFC Banants
Lincoln Red ImpsvHB Torshavn
SP La FioritavFC Levadia Tallinn
Champions League secondqualifying round draw in full:
BATE Borisov vKS Skenderbeu
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vFC Santa Colomaor FC Banants
Dinamo TbilisivFC Aktobe
HSK Zrinjski MostarvNK Maribor
FC SheriffvFK Sutjeska
AC Sparta PrahavSP La Fioritaor FC Levadia Tallinn
MalmoFFvFK Ventspils
SK Slovan BratislavavThe New Saints
CelticvKRReykjavik
Cliftonville vDebreceni VSC
Partizan Belgrade vLincoln Red Impsor HB Torshavn
Legia WarsawvSaint Patrick's Athletic
FK RabotnickivHJK Helsinki
Dinamo Zagreb v VMFD Zalgiris
PFC Ludogorets 1945vF91 Dudelange
Valletta vQarabag FK
Stromsgodset Toppfotball vSteaua Bucharest
news_articleMon, 23 Jun 2014 12:26:23 +0000198888 at http://www.fourfourtwo.com